Syrian regime says Islamic State fully ousted from Damascus

In major advance, Assad troops retake Yarmouk, Hajar al-Aswad; army declares area ‘completely secure’

By AFP 21 May 2018, 5:54 pm

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Syrian women walk past a large portrait of President Bashar al-Assad and a watermarked portrait of his late father and former President Hafez al-Assad as they queue to attend the government-sponsored "Ghouta Shopping Festival", in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on May 13, 2018.(AFP PHOTO / LOUAI BESHARA)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s army said Monday it was in full control of the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting the Islamic State group, marking a major milestone in the seven-year war.

“The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,” it said in a statement carried on official media.

The development came after troops had captured a key southern portion of Damascus from IS, the statement said, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the adjacent district of Hajar al-Aswad.

“The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified,” it added.

Syria’s war erupted in 2011 with protests against President Bashar Assad, including in the capital.

The following year, the government began losing control of parts of Damascus and placed a crippling siege around Yarmouk, which lies in the capital’s south.

The army’s announcement came hours after a tenuous evacuation deal saw hundreds of IS fighters and their relatives quit Yarmouk, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The government has denied reaching a deal with IS. It said a brief ceasefire had allowed one convoy of women and children to leave the pocket in southern Damascus.

Since last year, Syria’s government has cleared swathes of territory around Damascus from its armed opponents through a blend of military pressure and evacuation deals.